"Not Everyone"

This verse comes from the message that Jesus preached, known as the Sermon on the Mount. This verse and the verses surrounding it make it very clear that not everyone is going to heaven. Not even many who say they are and even expect to be there. There are many people who will just flat out tell you they are lost and heading to Hell. Usually, these are the people who will give some attention to being saved. Other words, they will listen. A person who will not listen to the Gospel and give it some thought will never be saved. The first verse in this chapter tells us there was a multitude of people who were at this mountain and heard the words of Christ It was a mixed multitude there that day. The rich, the poor, the learned, the uneducated, the weak and sick, the powerful, the highly religious, and many others. It was to the religious listeners that Jesus aimed these words. Those words ring loud and clear for the religious people of the world. Do you think for one moment that being active in church and religious activities will get anyone into heaven? The people in that crowd that day knew about God, but did not know God. Their religion gave that to them. And today, multitudes know about Jesus, but don't know Him. To know Him requires a second birth, John 3:3-8. Most religious people talk about the second birth but have never experienced it. They can talk about being saved but have never been saved. Read carefully these words of Jesus as He addresses the religious (but lost) of this world. "And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER knew you: DEPART from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:23. To me, these are the saddest words recorded in the four Gospels.

January 12, 2014

From the bulletin,

Pastor James Baker